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When central heating struggles to adequately reach all the corners of your house, the best space heaters excel at supplying focused warmth in poorly insulated or drafty areas. Now that we've reached the thick of winter, incorporating an extra layer of warmth can make a world of difference in your comfort. The best portable heaters can also help lower overall heating costs by supplementing your primary heating source. They're also perfect for spaces beyond homes, like garages and RVs that lack built-in heating systems.
After extensive testing of 25 units and consulting with industry experts, the Vornado AVH10 Space Heater is the best space heater we. tested. It demonstrated impressive heating power in small and large spaces, quiet operation, and comprehensive safety features. Those seeking a more economical solution should consider the Lasko Ceramic Portable Space Heater — a compact, efficient unit priced below $30 that's remarkably user-friendly.
Learn more about how Business Insider Reviews tests and reviews home products.
Top picks for the best space heaters of 2025
Best overall: Vornado AVH10 Space Heater - See at Amazon
Best budget: Lasko Ceramic Portable Space Heater - See at Amazon
Best for large rooms: Lasko Duo Comfort Fan and Space Heater - See at Walmart
Quietest: Honeywell ThermaWave 6 Ceramic Space Heater - See at Amazon
Best high-end: Dyson Purifier HP07 Hot+Cool Purifying Fan Heater - See at Best Buy
Best design: Vornado VHEAT Vintage Metal Heater - See at Amazon
Best for a desk: Lasko MyHeat Space Heater - See at Amazon
Best energy-efficient: Boldr Kelvin Space Heater - See at Boldr
Best overall
The Vornado AVH10is the best space heater we've tested because of its impressive heating power in both small and large rooms, whisper-quiet 42-decibel operation, excellent temperature control, and comprehensive safety features — all in an energy-efficient unit that's easy to use.
- Exception heating performance
- Quiet operation
- Helpful safety features, including tip-over protection
- Energy efficient
- Lacks a timer function
- No oscillation feature
The Vornado AVH10 emerged as the best space heater overall thanks to its outstanding performance across several important metrics. This compact powerhouse demonstrated impressive heating capabilities in our controlled tests, raising office temperatures by 18 degrees over five hours — placing it among the most effective units we've evaluated. Even in challenging larger spaces, it increased the temperature across the room by seven degrees.
Unlike many heaters I've tested, the AVH10 could keep temperatures comfortable. When the room deviated by five degrees from the target, the Vornado would turn on or off to supply stable comfort. In our tests, it reached the desired 70-degree mark within an hour, showcasing its rapid heating capabilities.
The heater balances user experience and safety. Running at just 42 decibels, it's whisper-quiet compared to competitors, making it perfect for home offices or bedrooms. The comprehensive safety features include overheat protection, cool-to-the-touch housing, and tip-over protection — crucial elements we look for in our top recommendation. Its low-profile, stable design further enhances safety while power consumption remains notably efficient, second only to our energy-efficient pick.
Setup proved refreshingly straightforward, requiring only a brief hold of the power button to activate — no manual consultation needed. The fan mode adds year-round utility, though we should note two minor limitations: the absence of a timer function and oscillation.
These modest drawbacks aside, the Vornado AVH10's combination of quiet operation, powerful heating performance, robust safety features, and remarkable temperature control make it an exceptional choice for most users. Its ease of use and energy efficiency further cement it as our pick for the best space heater.
Best budget
The Lasko Ceramic Portable Space Heater is a practical, no-frills miniature heater with enough juice to turn your chilly home office into a cozy, warm nook of productivity.
- Compact
- Incredibly efficient
- Easy to use
- Housing stays cool to the touch
- Overheat detector
- No tip-over safety switch
- No temperature display
The Lasko Ceramic Portable Space Heater is one of the smallest heaters on this list, at just about 10 inches tall. Still, it uses a powerful 1,500 watts to heat efficiently for its miniature size.
There are three settings (low, high, and fan) and an adjustable temperature dial. The temperature dial uses dots instead of specific temperatures, so it's not intuitive to adjust the unit — I ended up watching a YouTube video. Once I got it working, the heat cycling feature kept me comfortable for hours and quietly, so I didn't need to shut it off during Zoom calls.
Keep in mind that it's not a whole-room heater, though. In my testing, it only increased the overall temperature in my office by about three degrees Fahrenheit. However, sitting close to the heater, I felt much warmer.
The heater's cool-touch housing didn't heat up during use, but the front grille gets quite hot (though you can expect this with most space heaters). It'll also shut off automatically if it detects overheating. The manual didn't specify what temperature this function triggers, and I didn't encounter it during my testing.
There's no tip-over safety switch, but the unit is quite stable. I had to shove it off my desk for it to tip over.
The Lasko Ceramic Portable Space Heater was previously the top overall pick in our guide because of its reliability and performance. However, it lacks features like a timer, adjustable heat settings, and a remote. Also, it's more of a tabletop heater than a whole room. Still, at under $40, it's the best budget space heater when you're unwilling to turn on the furnace. It's easy to store and tote around the house. —Steph Coelho
Best for large rooms
The Lasko Duo Comfort Heater did the best job of heating our test room. It features intuitive controls and doubles as a tower fan for year-round use.
- Performed the best in our heating test
- Heats quickly
- Stay-cool housing
- Intuitive controls
- Louder than most heaters
- No tip-over protection
- High power consumption
The Lasko Duo Comfort Fan and Space Heater delivers exceptional heating performance with notable trade-offs — it operates loudly and doesn't have tip-over protection. It showed impressive heating abilities in our test office, raising the temperature by 21.2 degrees Fahrenheit in five hours, the largest jump we've seen in our heater evaluations. It increased the temperature in our large test room by seven degrees, making it the best space heater for large rooms.
Particularly noteworthy is how fast the Lasko FHV801 increased the temperature. In just 30 minutes, it brought the room's temperature to 70 degrees. The heater has four heat settings and a thermostat that goes up to 90 degrees. Yet, when I set it to 70, the unit kept heating after hitting the setpoint. Only the Vornado space heaters and the Boldr unit discussed below could stay at the desired temperature.
User-friendliness is a strong suit. The setup and controls were intuitive. The Lasko space heater has a remote control, fan mode, and oscillation. There are four fan speeds, and I was impressed by how powerful it was on high, making it a contender for our best electric fan guide. Safety features include stay-cool housing, overheat protection, and an auto-off timer. However, it lacks tip-over protection. If that's a dealbreaker for you, the sister model, the FHV820 has the feature, albeit more expensive.
The performance was particularly superb, considering its average power consumption. However, the Lasko Duo Comfort was among the loudest, at about 50 decibels, though it was still quiet enough not to disrupt my meetings.
Overall, the Lasko Duo Comfort Fan and Space Heater is the best large space heater you can buy. It offers rapid, powerful heating at a reasonable price of under $100.
Quietest
The Honeywell ThermaWave 6 Ceramic Space Heater is outstanding at balancing heating performance and quiet operation. When you factor in the many safety features, this is also the best option for bedrooms.
- Incredibly quiet
- Easy to set up and use
- Energy-efficient
- Adjustable airflow
- Tip-over protection and several other helpful safety features
- Did well in office heating test
- Was slow to hit target temperature and didn’t maintain it
- No oscillation
The Honeywell ThermaWave 6 Ceramic Space Heater stands out for its whisper-quiet operation and exceptional heating power. It impressively raised my office temperature by 15 degrees over five hours during testing, though it took longer than other units to reach 70 degrees. However, it didn't maintain set temperatures. Instead, it continued heating beyond the target of 70 degrees, reaching 73 degrees by the end of the hourlong test period.
A strong point of this model is the user-friendly design. The intuitive control panel requires no manual to master, with straightforward buttons for thermostat settings, timer functions, and heat modes. While the unit doesn't oscillate, an adjustable lever helps direct heat where you want it.
Safety features include tip-over protection, cool-touch housing, and automatic shut-off. Combined with its energy efficiency and quiet operation, the ThermaWave 6 is the best space heater for bedroom use. You can run it through the night without worrying about significant power consumption or safety issues.
Best high-end
Besides heating, the Dyson Purifier HP07 Hot+Cool Purifying Fan Heater is a powerful tower fan and air purifier. Best of all, it heats rooms quickly, achieving the highest temperatures in our tests.
- Did the best in our office heating test
- Heats rooms quickly
- Also has air purifying and fan modes
- App connectivity
- Tip-over protection
- Kept heating after hitting thermostat temperature
- Used the most electricity
- Not the most user-friendly
The Dyson Purifier HP07 Hot+Cool Purifying Fan Heater was among the best in our heating tests, increasing the temperature in my office by nearly 20 degrees in five hours. It was also one of the fastest to reach the target temperature, hitting 70 degrees in 45 minutes. Yet, its $750 price tag is cost-prohibitive for most, so we didn't put it in the top spot.
If you have the budget, the Dyson HP07 is packed with features. A powerful fan keeps you cool in the summer. It's constantly cleaning the air. We put it through the testing we use for our best air purifier guide, and it did an average job of removing particles from the air but was one of the worst at capturing volatile organic compounds (VOCs.)
The quiet-operating Dyson HP07 features WiFi connectivity via the MyDyson app (available for iOS and Android). However, for safety reasons, you're limited in what adjustments you can make to the heater. You can adjust the fan speed, turn the heater off, and choose the precise angle of oscillation you want, but you can't turn it on or change the heat settings. Instead, a remote controls these functions. Still, with all the moving parts and features, this isn't as user-friendly as most space heaters.
The Dyson space heater did a poor job of maintaining temperatures once it achieved them. I programmed the thermostat to 70 degrees, but the room temperature rose after attaining it, registering 77 degrees an hour later.
The tip-over protection and timer-off, two important safety features, worked as advertised. Once the Dyson was below a 45-degree angle with the floor, it turned off and stayed off until I turned it back.
In our five-hour heating test, the Dyson HP07 used more power than any other heater, so plan on higher long-term costs for electricity and replacing the air filters.
Best design
This cute, vintage-looking Vornado space heater is modeled after the company's original 1945 Vornado fan. It has few bells or whistles, but it's super effective at warming up small-to-medium-sized rooms.
- Attractive retro look
- Heats rooms quickly
- Maintains consistent temperatures
- Easy to use and set up
- Tip-over protection
- Loudest heater we tested
- No timer
- No oscillation
The Vornado VHEAT Vintage Metal Heater is the perfect option if you're looking to curate a retro look in your living space. Modeled after the company's original fan release in 1945, the Vornado VHEAT has an attractive look and heavy-duty feel. While it lacks many high-end features commonly found in heaters in this price range, the VHEAT Vintage heater is easy to use, with just a toggle switch to adjust the heat level and a thermostat dial. I didn't need the instructions to get the unit up and running.
The Vornado space heater heated my office quickly, reaching 70 degrees within an hour. As I kept it blasting, the temperature increased another five degrees, better than average in our tests. The thermostat doesn't have temperatures on it. Instead, once the room is comfortable, you slowly turn the dial down until the heat turns off. Then, the unit maintains the temperature. This worked well. The heat kicked in once my office dropped two degrees below the target, bringing the temp back up.
The Vornado VHEAT's power use was average, but it was the loudest heater I tested. Still, it was only about as loud as a quiet office environment and didn't disrupt my meetings.
The unit has no shut-off timer, but its other safety features functioned properly. When I tipped the heater over, it turned off automatically. Even after running it on high for five hours, the housing stayed cool enough to touch. It also has overheat protection, though I couldn't test that.
Read our full Vornado VHEAT Vintage Metal Heater review.
Best for a desk
The Lasko MyHeat Space Heater takes up minimal space on your desk while providing a blast of hot air and operating quietly.
- Compact size easily fits on any desk
- Quickly blows hot air
- Quiet operation
- Struggles to heat a whole room
- Few safety features
- The exterior gets hot
The Lasko Space Heater is tiny at 6.5 inches high, 4.5 inches wide, and 3.5 inches deep, making it unobtrusive on any desk or nightstand. It's simple to use, too. There's just one control: the on/off button. You plug it in, and it starts blowing hot air within seconds.
At 200 watts, the Lasko MyHeat isn't powerful. It's not designed to heat a whole room. Instead, it's a personal heater blowing hot air directly at you. It only increased the office's temperature by 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit in two hours. We'd compare the warming effects to wearing a sweater fresh out of the dryer. We were impressed by how quietly the Lasko heater operated. It's no louder than ambient noise.
This Lasko space heater has a downside. It doesn't automatically turn off when it tips over, which is dangerous since the front of the device gets hot enough to burn your hand. However, it does have overheating protection.
The Lasko MyHeat has earned its spot on my desk for years. I like that it adds a little heat to my office when outdoor temperatures don't warrant cranking the thermostat. Overall, it's the best small space heater for staying warm at your desk.
Best energy-efficient
While there’s no denying the impressiveness of the Boldr Kelvin’s unique, sleek design, its quiet operation and energy efficiency are equally remarkable.
- Attractive appearance
- Maintains consistent temperatures
- Used the least electricity in our tests
- Virtually silent
- Heats rooms slowly and doesn’t reach high temperatures
- Hard to use
- No oscillation or fan
- Not really portable
The Boldr Kelvin is unlike any space heater we've tested. It looks like a 53-inch flat-screen TV, and you can mount it on your wall like one. Unlike a TV, it also works in a vertical orientation, so you have this sleek black (or white) piece on your wall that emits heat. The Kelvin comes with all the mounting hardware you need, though we did not mount it on a wall for our testing. Instead, I precariously leaned it against a wall, which may be a good option for renters who can't mount the heater. While there's a risk of it falling over, the heater stayed in place for me.
Other than the on button, there are no controls or screens on the Kelvin. Instead, you rely solely on the app (available for iOS and Android), which allows you to make heating schedules, set an auto-off timer, change the heat settings, and more. The app worked well, except it kept trying to get me to update the firmware, but each time I tried, the update failed. According to Boldr, the company is working on a new app.
In our heating tests, the Boldr only increased my office's temperature by nine degrees in the five-hour testing period, a lower increase than most. However, this infrared heater was the only unit we tested that maintained the target temperature in our thermostat test.
You can't hear the Kelvin space heater running. It's just that quiet, making it an impressive, unobtrusive heater for any space. You can enter the cost per kWh rate from your electric bill into the app to track how much the Kelvin costs to run. I gauged the accuracy using a smart plug and found it was spot on, and the Kelvin was the most energy-efficient space heater by far. It used about half as much electricity as the average of the other units. So, while this has a high upfront cost, you'll save on energy costs in the long term.
The Boldr doesn't have tip-over protection, but since you're supposed to mount it to your wall, it's unlikely to tip.
What else we tested
Midea 3-in-1 Bladeless Air Purifier, Heater, and Fan: This is the best space heater that didn't make our guide. It was the best at heating our large room. However, at $160, it's pricey and we want to put it through our air purifying tests before making a final recommendation. Still, this is your next best bet if our large room pick isn't available.
Dreo Atom One Space Heater: For $50, the Atom One is a solid, compact space heater. It's packed full of safety features and easy to use. Plus, it oscillates to send heat throughout the entire room. It heats quickly but was just average at increasing the temperatures in the test room. Also, it used more power than most units.
Dreo Heater Fan MC706: This 2-in-1 heater and fan combo can become a year-round fixture in your home. It's quite large, though not an eyesore, making it a little harder to move from room to room. It's full-featured with five heat settings, an eco-option to set the temperature to a specific degree, and 12 fan speeds. To go from heater to fan, you simply long press the mode button where you can also watch the internal components rotate to the intended use. It also includes a 12-hour timer, oscillation, tip-over and overheat protection. It is however, about $70 more expensive than our large-room pick from Lasko.
Honeywell Ceramic Tower Heater: There's a lot to love about this heater. It has a svelte design to save space, intuitive controls, and excellent heating capabilities. However, it was one of the loudest heaters we tested and used more power than average.
De'longhi Dragon Oil-Filled Radiator Space Heater: The Dragon was the only oil heater we tested. It was so quiet you couldn't tell it was on, and it has all the safety features we look for. However, it didn't do a good job of heating the test rooms.
What to look for in a space heater
Types of space heaters
- Ceramic space heaters: These use electricity to heat metal coils that run through ceramic and may employ a fan to distribute the heat. The ceramic takes a while to cool down, so the heater still radiates heat after it's turned off. Ceramic space heaters are compact, lightweight, and portable but aren't a good choice for large spaces. Most of our picks are ceramic heaters with forced air because they tend to do a better job of quickly heating rooms and directing the heat where we want it.
- Forced-air space heaters: Much like a whole-home heating system, forced-air space heaters feature a fan and a heating element. The fan blows the heat right where you want it.
- Infrared space heaters: These heaters use infrared rays to heat objects in the room rather than the air. You can often feel the heat right away. Infrared space heaters tend to be more energy efficient, though they have a higher upfront cost.
- Oil-filled space heaters: Also known as "radiator heaters" because of their radiator-like design, they contain heated oil. The heat then radiates from the unit. Oil-filled heaters heat long after the unit is turned off, making them energy-efficient. However, they lack a fan to help distribute the heat. We tested one oil-filled unit, the DeLonghi Full Room Radiant Heater, and were disappointed with its heating capabilities and marginal energy savings.
- Propane space heaters: These non-electric heaters rely on propane for fuel. They work indoors and out, though they present a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Propane space heaters are the cheapest to operate but have more safety risks as they require a consistent propane supply and a flame. Since safety was a top concern and we were testing indoors, we only tested electric heaters for this guide.
Here are some other features you should consider when shopping for a space heater:
Power: Most heaters in our guide have 1,500 watts, which is standard for space heaters. More powerful heaters are usually marketed as "garage heaters" and either need to be hardwired into your electrical circuit or run on a special appliance circuit. Fortunately, a heater with 1,500 watts should be enough to heat a room of about 150 square feet.
Heat-cycling function: You'll want a space heater with a heat-cycling function for comfort and energy efficiency. This function allows you to select the desired temperature, which the unit then attempts to maintain by cycling on and off when the temperature is above or below the threshold. This is similar to how a built-in thermostat works in your home and prevents you from having to manually turn the unit on and off to maintain comfort.
Size: A small space heater is great for desktop use in a home office, dorm room, or office building. It'll usually heat the area around the heater comfortably, which is good enough if you're just looking for a small bubble of personal comfort. A space heater with a bigger footprint has a larger fan, which helps blow air around the room and is ideal for heating large spaces like garages or full rooms. Opt for a full-size heater if you have a lot of space to heat.
Safety: Our FAQ section below outlines more safety features to look for, but overheat protection is a must.
How to safely use a space heater
Space heaters are ultra-convenient, but safety experts said they can also be dangerous if not used properly. A 2022 National Fire Protection Association release states that space heaters caused 88% of home fire deaths between 2016 and 2020, an alarming figure.
Matthew Griffith, the Montreal Fire Department's fire prevention section chief, and Dan Mock, the brand manager of Mister Sparky, an electrical services company, said the number one rule for using a space heater is never to leave it unattended. Here are other safety considerations from the experts:
- Look for a space heater certified by the Underwriter's Laboratory (UL or ULC in Canada) with safety features like an auto-shutoff and tip-over switch.
- Do not put a space heater too close to walls or flammable materials and keep the backside clear, as the unit can overheat if blocked.
- Avoid using extension cords or overloading circuits with these appliances
- Read the instruction manual cover-to-cover and inspect the device before running it. It's also a good idea to keep the packaging to store the heater and keep it dust-free during the warmer months.
How we tested space heaters
In addition to interviewing two safety experts about space heaters, we relied heavily on our experience reviewing heating devices like the best patio heaters and portable outdoor heaters. We put 23 space heaters through the same set of standard tests and used a reference thermometer to collect temperature data. Here's what we looked for with each test:
Ability to heat: We tested every heater in a 100-square-foot office with a starting room temperature of 60 to 64 degrees and the home's heating turned off. A reference thermometer was placed in the middle of the room, with the heater in a corner. We then blasted each heater on high for five hours, taking temperature readings. We ran the same test in a 1,000-square-foot room if a heater was designed for larger spaces. We used the same office setup to test the thermostat and ran the units at 70 degrees. Once it hit 70 degrees, we took readings for the next hour to see if it maintained the temp.
Easy-to-use controls: While safety experts recommend reading the manual cover-to-cover before using a space heater, we tried to figure out the units independently before referencing any manuals. We looked for controls that were intuitive and easy to figure out.
Noise: We placed a decibel meter 6 feet from the heater to gauge noise as it ran on high. None of the space heaters we recommend were louder than a normal conversation. In some cases, you couldn't hear them at all.
Safety features: We verified whether safety features were functional (except for the overheating functions, since that would have presented a safety hazard), including tipping the units over to test for automatic shutoff.
Power use: Using a smart plug, we measured how much electricity each unit used while running on high during the five-hour test. On average, the heaters we tested used 1.2 kWh of electricity per hour, which works out to about 22 cents per hour based on average electricity costs.
Space heater FAQs
Are space heaters energy efficient?
Most space heaters use 1,500 watts of power. To put that in context, using your space heater eight hours per day for a month would add $50.36 to your energy bill, based on the current average electricity rates. They're typically cheaper to run than trying to heat a whole home.
How long can I leave a space heater on?
Modern space heaters have various features that make them safe for prolonged periods (over hours). However, you should still take the above mentioned precautions and turn the space heater off before sleeping. Designs with auto-off settings are convenient and safe, so you don't have to remember to turn it off.
Is it safe to run a space heater overnight?
While many of the latest space heaters are packed full of safety features, you should still not leave them unattended or let them run while you're sleeping. We recommend getting your bedroom all toasty before bed and turning the heater off when you're about to sleep.
How long do space heaters last?
Generally, a manufacturer's warranty length tells you how long an item is expected to last. The space heaters in our guide have warranties of 1 to 3 years, but with proper care, they can last more than a decade.
How much does it cost to run a 1500 W heater for 24 hours?
Using the most recent US Energy Information Administration's average residential electricity rate of 17 cents per kilowatt-hour (as of November 2024), the cost would be approximately $6.12 for 24 hours of continuous operation. Actual costs will vary based on your local electricity rates, which you can find on your electric bill.
Also, this number is if you run the heater nonstop. To save money, we suggest setting the thermostat to the lowest temperature you're comfortable with.
Do portable heaters run up your electric bill?
Yes, portable heaters significantly impact your electricity costs. Based on extensive testing of various models, I've found that even energy-efficient space heaters typically consume at least 750 watts per hour of operation. For context, this is roughly equivalent to running seven LED light bulbs simultaneously.
The real cost impact depends on your usage patterns and local electricity rates. Still, the continuous operation of a portable heater can easily add up to $200 to monthly bills in peak winter months, making them considerably less economical than central heating systems for whole-home heating needs.
As mentioned above, setting the heater's thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature will help you save.
What is the most effective type of space heater?
Based on extensive testing, ceramic fan heaters (forced air) raised the temperatures in our test rooms the most. However, they also used the most power.
Infrared heaters use electromagnetic waves to heat people and objects directly rather than just warming the air. This results in lower energy consumption and more efficient heat distribution.
Oil-filled radiators excel at maintaining consistent temperatures and are virtually silent, but they take longer to heat up.
